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Smart Medicine: How the Changing Role of Doctors Will Revolutionize Health Care
We’re a nation in love with the drama of the medical world—from fast-paced hospital life to the race to discover cures for diseases. In Smart Medicine, William Hanson brings to life the fascinating true world of doctors and nurses and reveals the revolutionary changes that will soon be sweeping through the medical community: pharmacies that double as walk-in clinics; health services that will be delivered online; electronic records that hold the history of every drug or blood test you ever took. You might go to a genome specialist to identify the ticking time bomb in your genes, or you might show a rash to your doctor via videophone from thousands of miles away. The plethora of new options will change the way you and your doctor make decisions. Sophisticated yet written in easily accessible language, this is a penetrating look at the new world of medicine.
272 pages, ebook
First published June 7, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 14, 2012
What do I know about medicine? I’ve been well most of my life and not had to wend my way through a morass of doctors, medications, hospitals, insurance, and decision making. I’ve had a primary care doctor most of the time and insurance coverage all of the time, but it is time for a reality check. This book sends me down the path of our collective struggle to reach that illusive Holy Grail of access to quality, affordable medical care for all.
William Hanson, an articulate doctor who is the son of a doctor, vividly outlines the amazing changes in medicine in our lifetime. We marvel at what can be done—and what can’t. We cringe at the cost. Doctors once had mystical all-encompassing knowledge about our well-being. Now they are specialists whose knowledge of other specialties may be sparse. They work as teams as we bounce from one office to another. Nurse practitioners are often assuming the traditional role of family doctor, or medical home as it is called in the book. Smart phones can have an app that makes them serve as a stethoscopes; simple tests at home are sometimes replacing the need to go to a lab; databases are being developed that can instantly access our complete medical history and even offer best-possible procedures for common or routine conditions, and at considerable cost savings.
The road ahead is not clearly marked, but it is time for me to start paying attention to the journey. This book introduced me to the road signs. Written clearly and in a way that sends a light down the path, I found it to be a fascinating and illuminating introduction to a subject that is easy to ignore until you find yourself lost on the road.
William Hanson, an articulate doctor who is the son of a doctor, vividly outlines the amazing changes in medicine in our lifetime. We marvel at what can be done—and what can’t. We cringe at the cost. Doctors once had mystical all-encompassing knowledge about our well-being. Now they are specialists whose knowledge of other specialties may be sparse. They work as teams as we bounce from one office to another. Nurse practitioners are often assuming the traditional role of family doctor, or medical home as it is called in the book. Smart phones can have an app that makes them serve as a stethoscopes; simple tests at home are sometimes replacing the need to go to a lab; databases are being developed that can instantly access our complete medical history and even offer best-possible procedures for common or routine conditions, and at considerable cost savings.
The road ahead is not clearly marked, but it is time for me to start paying attention to the journey. This book introduced me to the road signs. Written clearly and in a way that sends a light down the path, I found it to be a fascinating and illuminating introduction to a subject that is easy to ignore until you find yourself lost on the road.
July 23, 2011
The elements of transformed health care--evidence-based medicine, pay
for performance, the patient-centered medical home--are now the
currency of spirited debate in the U.S., but Hanson provides a
valuable doctor's perspective on the incipient revolution. This is not
a detailed discussion of the changes, with thorough case studies or
analyses, but still provides an intriguing and exquisitely written
exposition of the movement for the general public. I wish Hanson had
talked more about the barriers to change, which he presented as
inevitable. His long discourses on diverse topics--which turn out to
be metaphors for the topics in the book--are also a bit distracting,
although ultimately thought-provoking. Even people who already follow
the health IT field will benefit from Hanson's historical
perspective--his appreciation for what has been tried before--but the
book does not really lay out the long path ahead of us.
for performance, the patient-centered medical home--are now the
currency of spirited debate in the U.S., but Hanson provides a
valuable doctor's perspective on the incipient revolution. This is not
a detailed discussion of the changes, with thorough case studies or
analyses, but still provides an intriguing and exquisitely written
exposition of the movement for the general public. I wish Hanson had
talked more about the barriers to change, which he presented as
inevitable. His long discourses on diverse topics--which turn out to
be metaphors for the topics in the book--are also a bit distracting,
although ultimately thought-provoking. Even people who already follow
the health IT field will benefit from Hanson's historical
perspective--his appreciation for what has been tried before--but the
book does not really lay out the long path ahead of us.
January 27, 2012
had trouble getting into it and ended up not finishing it. He's not a bad writer, and health care is an interesting subject. The most I could put my finger on as to what I didn't find engaging about it was.....
1. the overall trends he was citing (increased specialization, measurement of everything, emphasis on evidence-based care......) are very well-known to anyone paying any attention to the news, or even just consuming any health care.
2. The specific examples of novel methods don't come across clearly or well in print. Made me appreciate what's fun about interactive websites. Lifeless text telling you that there's a really cool smartphone app that does x, y, z to help in diagnosis, but you can't see it or use it, gets gold fast.
1. the overall trends he was citing (increased specialization, measurement of everything, emphasis on evidence-based care......) are very well-known to anyone paying any attention to the news, or even just consuming any health care.
2. The specific examples of novel methods don't come across clearly or well in print. Made me appreciate what's fun about interactive websites. Lifeless text telling you that there's a really cool smartphone app that does x, y, z to help in diagnosis, but you can't see it or use it, gets gold fast.
July 4, 2012
This was a really interesting book, but the writing style of the author was sometimes hard to follow. He would start each chapter with a story, but then would jump around to other subjects and it was sometimes hard to understand how his "intro story" was related to the rest of the chapter.
Most interesting part of the book. His description of the evolution of medical insurance and the passing from medical care just to fix people to preventative medical care.
Most interesting part of the book. His description of the evolution of medical insurance and the passing from medical care just to fix people to preventative medical care.
July 18, 2016
iStehoscope Expert
NETRA
Aydogan Ozcan, lens-free microscope
Vishal Giare, photo analysis to determine whether need stitches, Wash Post article,
Lingraphica for aphasia
While doctor-patient ratios vary from 200-1 in NYC to 600-1 in the west, "there is an abundance of data showing that a higher ration correlates with higher costs . . . . with no appreciable difference in medical outcomes for the patients" (84)
Nice history of Kaiser
NETRA
Aydogan Ozcan, lens-free microscope
Vishal Giare, photo analysis to determine whether need stitches, Wash Post article,
Lingraphica for aphasia
While doctor-patient ratios vary from 200-1 in NYC to 600-1 in the west, "there is an abundance of data showing that a higher ration correlates with higher costs . . . . with no appreciable difference in medical outcomes for the patients" (84)
Nice history of Kaiser
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews